Wait, wait!
Listening to this, it was like, "What is the Great Sage going to do? Storm the Southern Gate and shatter the Firmament! What if he never comes back? Then he never comes back!"
Damn! Damn! Damn!
Li Su couldn't help staring. The kind, benevolent old monk before him suddenly seemed utterly hateful.
What the heck?!
Hadn't he chosen Shaolin Temple precisely because it was safe?
Was this a joke???
Watching the others' excitement, Tianming drew a light breath and closed his eyes.
He hadn't planned to agree.
Even if they went, it would only be him and Tianxing.
But something had happened that completely changed Shaolin Temple's stance.
The death of their honored master, Great Master Lingquan.
Over the past two years, the abbot Tianjian and the others had sent disciples out to gather information whenever they weren't training.
Their master, Great Master Lingquan, had possessed nearly seventy years of cultivation and had perfected the Dragon Subduing Elephant Taming Art. Yet he had returned and passed away in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea after a single punch. There weren't many people in the martial world with that kind of skill.
But after two years, they had found nothing, leaving Tianjian and the others deeply puzzled.
When Western Xia once again sent troops against the Song Dynasty, Tianjian and the others couldn't help turning their attention to the news.
The attack had been cold on the outside and scorching within. It seemed the Central Plains martial world had never heard of such a supreme art.
In other words, the person who had fought their honored master Lingquan might not have been from the Central Plains martial world at all. It was possible they had come from beyond the Central Plains.
There were several countries around the Song Dynasty, but not that many.
There were only Liao, Western Xia, Dali, and Tubo.
As for martial arts, Dali's were extremely similar to those of the Central Plains. Its state-protecting sect was Tianlong Temple, so they could rule it out for now.
The Khitans of the Liao Kingdom relied mainly on brute force and also believed in Buddhism. Their martial arts tended to be hard and forceful.
As for Western Xia, its climate was cold and dry, and it had no shortage of extraordinary people and strange happenings. Most importantly, Western Xia had an unclear connection to one of the most famous sects in the martial world today: the Xiaoyao Sect!
It was difficult to say whether the Xiaoyao Sect was righteous or evil.
Though its martial arts made its practitioners seem like immortals drifting away, that did nothing to change the strange nature of its techniques. Back then, when Wuyazi had stormed Shaolin Temple, his qi had been exceptionally strange, combining yin and yang and even absorbing other people's inner power. That could hardly be called righteous martial arts.
What was more, Shaolin Temple had heard a little about the Xiaoyao Sect's Vulture Palace. It was managed by Wuyazi's junior sister, Tianshan Tonglao. She was exceptionally ruthless, and the sects around Vulture Palace were all under her control, from the three teachings to the nine schools.
Soon, Tianjian and the others reached a decision.
Tianwen, Tianxing, and Tianjian would attend the gathering together.
Tianjian would take disciples to join the Anti-Xia Alliance convened by the Beggar Sect, Tianwen would head to Western Xia, and Tianxing would accompany him in secret.
Tianjian took a breath. At first, he hadn't planned to bring Xuancheng and the others.
But bringing them along would make it easier for Tianwen and the others to act. Xuancheng and his companions had fought the White-Clad Buddhist two years ago, and they would surely draw attention. The person had ambushed their honored master halfway, so Great Master Kuxin of Putian Shaolin was probably also someone he had arranged. If that person was still around, he would surely seize the chance to attack Shaolin Temple when they brought their group along this time.
This trip would undoubtedly be dangerous, but with him and Tianxing there, they could keep everyone safe.
Besides, when martial artists took part in a national war, their role differed from that of the army. They mainly fought the enemy martial artists or carried out decapitation strikes.
For the younger generation, the danger wasn't that great.
Even so, they still needed to prepare before leaving.
"The Western Xia army has set out. The real battle should begin in two months. The Beggar Sect's gathering is set for the fifteenth day of the first month, about a month and a half from now."
Tianming looked at Xuancheng and the others. "You can go, but on one condition."
They all looked up, staring unblinkingly at Tianming as they waited to hear his condition.
"Here are three scripture scrolls. You may study them as you wish. If any one of you masters any one of the three within a month, I'll take you with me. Otherwise, with your current strength, going to the battlefield would serve little purpose."
As he spoke, Monk Tianming took out a stack of scripture scrolls that seemed to have just been copied and handed each of them three sheets.
The moment they received the scrolls, Xuancheng and the others began reading.
Huh?
Li Su was the last to receive the scrolls. The instant they touched his hands, his whole body jolted and he froze.
There was only one reason.
The World Book had appeared again!
The last time had been when he received the Nine Yang Manual.
Which meant...
Li Su's pupils narrowed. A thought surfaced in his mind: Could these three scrolls be Shaolin Temple's Muscle Tendon Changing Classic and Indestructible Diamond Divine Art?
He couldn't help glancing at the World Book. The sixth, seventh, and eighth pages.
Manual: Unnamed Technique.
Quality: Superior First-Rank (Pseudo-Superior)!
Of the three techniques, only the one on the eighth page was labeled Pseudo-Superior. The first two were both labeled Superior First-Rank, which meant they were on the same level as the Nine Yang Manual.
Hiss!
Li Su couldn't help sucking in a breath.
Shaolin Temple did indeed have techniques on the level of the Nine Yang Manual, but there were only one or two of them.
Unable to resist, he lowered his head and began reading too.
But after reading the contents, Li Su couldn't help furrowing his brow, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
His confusion only deepened after he had finished all three scrolls.
There was no doubt that the training methods in the scrolls were no ordinary techniques. Cotton Palm wasn't fit to carry their shoes, and even Formless Calamity Finger could only be compared to the third scroll.
But calling the first two scrolls the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic or the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art would be going too far.
Their contents were nowhere near as wide-ranging or profound as the Nine Yang Manual's.
The first scroll trained the method of the Circulation Realm. It was somewhat similar to the *** of Arhat Fist, but also different.
It used an internal circulation and a stillness-based practice.
The requirements were contradictory: one had to circulate the qi, yet think of nothing and focus on nothing.
When the qi began to circulate through the Circulation Realm on its own, that counted as mastering the basics.
The method of circulation was already extremely complex, involving nearly every acupoint in the body. And yet one was supposed to think of nothing and focus on nothing? How could one train the qi to form an internal circulation on its own?
The second scroll was also a stillness-based practice, but it trained something different: a single breath.
One took a breath into the body, and the qi surged forth, traveling through the Circulation Realm. The farther that breath reached, the farther the qi would travel.
When one breath could carry the qi through the entire Circulation Realm, that counted as mastering the basics.
Never mind the third scroll for now. The first two contained barely a hundred words each, and even with diagrams and explanations, they were supposedly Superior First-Rank martial arts? It was truly hard to understand.
But there was no doubt they were extremely difficult.
The first scroll in particular was beyond Li Su's comprehension. The qi had to circulate, yet one had to think of nothing and focus on nothing? Wasn't that a joke?
The Arhat True Qi in his body now circulated on its own, following the Circulation Realm of Arhat Fist. If he focused his thoughts, he could change its course; if he didn't, the qi would inevitably follow Arhat Fist's circulation route.
There was simply no solution.
The second scroll was difficult too, and a bit inhuman.
Circulating qi through the Circulation Realm took about an hour, using Arhat Fist as an example.
His own breath was already quite long. With the help of his qi, he could manage one breath in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, but that was his limit. One breath in an entire hour? That was ridiculous.
Even Li Su was stumped, so Xuancheng and the others were no different. They all raised their heads and looked at Monk Tianming.
Monk Tianming said calmly, "There is no doubt that these three techniques are supreme secrets of Shaolin Temple. Naturally, they are difficult to master. But once you learn them, you'll be able to protect yourselves on the battlefield.
"That is the prerequisite for you to go, and the only condition. If you fail, then stay here at Shaolin Temple.
"Otherwise, going there would only mean throwing your lives away for nothing!
"Leave. You have one month."